Rich Americans pay their fair share in taxes — and then some

Barack Obama and his allies seem to think Americans are eager for higher taxes on the affluent. The president who came to office vowing to “spread the wealth around” by raising taxes on individuals with incomes above $200,000 is doubling down, making a tax hike on the rich the centerpiece of his campaign for reelection. “We should ask the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more,” he urged a White House audience last week. “We’re talking about folks like me going back to the tax rates that existed under Bill Clinton. . . . And here’s the thing — there are a lot of well-to-do Americans, patriotic Americans, who understand this and are willing to do the right thing, willing to do their part to make this country strong.”